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Game, set and
match: detectives
Briscoe and Green
in a tennis murder
mystery.

Law & Order: Justice is Served

Runs on: PC

Price: $49.95

Classification: M15+

Rating: * * * ½

More than 1 million Australians watch TV's longest-running crime
show every week. This third Law & Order interactive mystery
will keep the legions of fans happy by letting players experience
both sides of law enforcement.

Players partner with detectives Briscoe and Green to collect
evidence and interview witnesses after the death of a young tennis
star. Once you have arrested the suspected killer, you work with
assistant DA Southerlyn to build a compelling case that will
convince the jury.

The script is well-written and certainly intriguing enough to be
a TV episode. There are many colourful characters and surprise plot
twists. Leading cast members contribute their voices which makes
the atmosphere just right.

But, as with its predecessors, finding clues is too easy, even
with so many red herrings. Players simply scan areas with the
cursor until an item of interest is flagged.

Nor is there much deductive work; players just send everything
off to the crime lab or research departments and wait for the
results. Choosing questions in interrogations requires little more
than common sense, although you sometimes need to present suspects
with incriminating evidence to get them to talk.

Fortunately, the adventure is lengthier than its predecessors,
with more dialogue, clues and locations, and you can call contacts
for information. Better yet, there are a few challenging puzzles to
give your brain a workout. Some of the more creative conundrums
include unlocking a music box by encouraging a bird to sing a tune,
and rearranging a spliced audio track.

The courtroom action is brief but exciting, with players able to
object and present witnesses and evidence to mount their case.

At this low price, Justice is Served represents better value
than its forerunners and is the best in the series. But only one
case could still be seen as insufficient, considering there is
little replay appeal.

Endgame: An intriguing mystery, but more mental challenge and
lasting appeal would be welcome.

GoldenEye: Rogue Agent

Runs on: PS2, Xbox and GameCube

Price: $89.95

Classification: M15+

Rating: * ½

Don't imagine this GoldenEye is the sequel to the classic
first-person shooter that made its debut on the Nintendo 64 many
years ago. While the original GoldenEye proved consoles can stand
alongside the PC as a viable battleground for shooter fans, Rogue
Agent is a derivative title with none of the flair that is usually
associated with everyone's favourite super-spy, James Bond.

Its only noteworthy feature is the fact that you get to play the
bad guy, but this innovation is wasted - the player doesn't get to
rob a bank, set devious traps for dashing MI6 agents, or terrorise
island resorts. And the fact that the storyline is a confusing
mishmash of Bond baddies from different timelines doesn't ram home
the fact that you're an agent of evil.

Rogue Agent ticks all the boxes on the shooter checklist, but
lacks any of the oomph needed to make these worthy of note. Unlike
the beautiful set pieces of other Bond games and movies, the levels
within are about as exciting as a visit to your local public
library.

While some of the villains in Bond flicks are renowned for
having the intellect of a chimp, it doesn't necessarily make for an
exciting game when they behave similarly here. And even though the
cut scenes are pleasantly eye-opening, the lacklustre in-game
graphics have none of the pizazz of previous Bond games.

Players can expect to blast through the relatively simple
single-player game in about 10 hours, so it's pleasing to see
multiplayer support has been included, both online and offline.
Unfortunately, next to the HALO 2s and Time Splitters of the gaming
world, it's a painfully shallow and slow multiplayer
experience.